Bangladesh suffer 6-wicket defeat to India

Towhid Hridoy’s resilient century went in vain as Bangladesh tasted a six-wicket defeat to India in their ICC Champions Trophy opening game at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Bangladesh posted 228 before being all out in 49.4 overs after Hridoy helped them recover from a shaky 35-5. But India’s opener Shubman Gill replied to Hridoy’s ton with a well-composed 101 not out to steer his side to victory in 46.3 overs, reaching 231-4.

Skipper Rohit Sharma hammered a 36-ball 41 while KL Rahul was not out on 41 to aid Gill in securing a rather comprehensive victory.

Jaker Ali Anik made 68 and added 154 runs with Hridoy after Bangladesh were reduced to a precarious 35-5 in just 8.3 overs, following a bowling burst of Mohammed Shami and Axar Patel.

Shami returned figures of 5-53 eventually. He broke through with the wicket of Soumya Sarkar, handing him a five-ball duck after Bangladesh chose to bat first in what looked like a two-paced pitch.

Shami also took the wicket of Mehidy Hasan Miraz (5) before his new ball partner Harshit Rana, who finished with 3-31, removed captain Najmul Hossain Shanto for a two-ball duck.

Axar Patel (2-43) then appeared on the stage with a double strike, removing Tanzid Tamim and Mushfiqur Rahim in consecutive deliveries. Tanzid was the only top-order batter who could reach double digits, making a run-a-ball-25. Mushfiqur was out for a first-ball duck, making him the third batter in the top five to be out for naught.

Axar could have taken Jaker Ali Anik to complete his hat trick, but Rohit Sharma put down the catch in the first slip, a miss that proved costly for India.

Jaker paid India heavily for the missed chance as he played to precision alongside Hridoy to help Bangladesh claw back into the game. Their 154-run partnership guided Bangladesh past 200.

Shami, however, returned to his second spell to break the partnership by claiming the wicket of Jaker, who sent the ball across the ropes four times in his 114-ball knock.

He then stifled Bangladesh to complete his sixth five-for when he removed Taskin in the penultimate over of the innings.

Hridoy, who also got a life early in his innings when Hardik Pandya missed his chance at mid-off, off the bowling of Kuldeep Yadav, then completed his maiden century off 114 balls by taking a single off Shami.

He was eventually out in exactly 100 after hitting six fours and two sixes by Harshit Rana in the last over that brought an end to Bangladesh’s innings with two balls still left.

While at the halfway stage, the total looked challenging given the two-paced nature of the wicket; India captain Rohit Sharma put Bangladesh bowlers in a sword to cause a mental breakdown.

He and Gill scored at seven runs per over to keep the asking run rate under control, a factor that eased the pressure on the next Indian batters. Rohit played the anchor role as he hammered seven fours in his innings.

And when Taskin got the first breakthrough by removing Rohit, India were already on 69 in 9.5 overs. The excellent start gave India the cushion to play steadily for a victory.

With Bangladesh’s much-hyped pace attack looking clueless, legspinner Rishad Hossain gave India some tough times as he took out Virat Kohli for 22 and Axar Patel for 8 to finish with 2-38.

Mehidy Hasan, though he couldn’t take any wickets, gave away just 37 runs in 10 overs.

Mustafizur Rahman, however, removed Shreyas Iyer for 15 as India lost three wickets in quick succession, but Gill and Rahul played astutely to deny Bangladesh further breakthroughs.

They added 87 runs for the unbeaten fifth wicket to drive the side to the victory with Gill remaining not out on 101 off 129 after smashing nine fours and two sixes.

Bangladesh will take on New Zealand in their next game on February 24 at Rawalpindi. India, meanwhile, will take on their old foes Pakistan at the same venue on February 23.